The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese

by Margaret Hathaway, Karl Schatz (Photographer)

A couple and their dog travel throughout the United States researching farm life, animal husbandry, and cheese production.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, Memoir, Travel, Animals, Biography

203 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jessica Haider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This meets the "road trip" task for the GoodReads Summer 2018 Reading Challenge.

I picked up "The Year of the Goat" over 6 years ago while on a weekend getaway in Portland, ME. There is a great little bookstore there called Rabelais which focus on food and drink related books.

The Year of the Goat tells of a couple living in NYC who become disillusioned with the city life and constantly being on the go. They feel the urge to nest or settle down into something. After some soul searching they decide they want to move out of the city and raise dairy goats. On the advice of a friend, they decide to take a year to learn more about being goat farmers. So, they embark on a 1 year journey that takes them across the US to attend fairs, dairy goat conventions, tour farms etc.

I was wanting more out of this book. I typically love these food/travel hybrid books. This one left me feeling kind of "meh". It may be that the subtitle's mention of "quest for the perfect cheese" was misleading as the book was much more about goats than it was about cheese. And i LOVE cheese, so... (goats are okay too)

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars

I found this book on the sidewalk of my Brooklyn neighborhood one day. I usually like memoirs of leaving the 9-5 life to travel and pursue dreams, but this one fell flat for me. I almost didn't finish it, weighed down by all the mundane details. It started out interesting enough, but not being a goat enthusiast myself, I felt bored by all the intricacies described on each page. The book was interesting, just went on too long for my taste.

Also, there were a few moments that sat wrong with me, most notably when the author and her husband meet a "strangely androgynous and somewhat beligerant Native American livestock dealer." Why use the term "strangely androgynous?" I didn't love that her husband overtly snapped a photo of this person even though they didn't want to be photographed, and I'm not sure what purpose including this person's description and details of the experience serve for the overall story.

[Suede · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I like cheese and I LOOOOOVE goat cheese. I really thought the focus would be on the quest for the perfect cheese, as the title indicated. Instead, I found it to be loaded with personal tidbits that had nothing to do with (what I thought) was the purpose of the book. I'm sure that Margaret and Karl are really great people, and I admire (and envy a bit) what they have decided to do. I would recommend this book to others, but the her "voice" through the book, and lack of cheese focus gets this book only one star.

[Melissa (Semi Hiatus Until After the Holidays) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz felt something was missing from their New York City lives. They felt the yearning to leave the city and move to the country, a longing for a simpler life. As they discussed their options, they came upon the idea of raising goats. As the couple began their research, they found the information and expense daunting. Was this something they could realistically do? And the better question—was raising goats worth giving up everything about their previous lives for?

Karl and Margaret decide to spend a year touring different goat operations around the United States in order to firm up their dreams and goals, as well as to determine if this is, indeed, the path they desired their lives to take. The couple spends The Year of the Goat traveling in their car, camping or sleeping at various farms along the way. All the while, they talk with farmers, breeders, farmers who raised dairy goats, meat goats, and everything in-between. They sample every product made from goat and end their year with a realization that this isn’t just a lifestyle change—it is a calling.

The Year of the Goat is an intriguing story. Sustainable, local foods and products is a growing movement around the country, and there is a great deal of fascinating information included in this book. Infused with humor, the book reads like a novel much of the time, and the author doesn’t hold back with her assessments and insightful conclusions she draws after each visit or situation.

At times, The Year of the Goat becomes tedious. I am not sure the reader needed to have details of every stop on their tour (and I’m not even sure that all of their stops are included, but I think there are just a few too many). One example of each type of production technique or circumstance would suffice. But just when I thought things were getting a little repetitive, the author would come up with an extremely thought-provoking comment that would make each section worthwhile.

It is also appreciated that the author comes full circle, bringing the reader up to date with their latest adventures rather than limiting the book to their year on the road. She is transparent enough that the you really feel like you get to know her and are taking part in their decision-making process along with the couple. The Year of the Goat is a fascinating look at leaving a busy, chaotic life behind for a new philosophy, going back to a simpler, land-focused existence.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this to be an immensely interesting read - but then again, I'm a wannabe farmer and have actually been interested in getting a pair of goats. (And I have a small obsession with goat cheese.)
Certainly it's much more than that though... the book focuses a great deal on small-farm agriculture, food and travel. It provides insight into the American farm culture as well as sustainable agriculture practices. The story centers around the author, Margaret Hathaway and her (now) husband, photographer Karl. They leave their NYC lives (and really? how many times has that story been told) and embark on a cross-country tour of small farms, local eating, and learning the business and subculture (oh, there is one) of goats of all kinds. It's a trendy tale to tell these days - leaving the urban life and "getting back to the land" - but with a different twist.
About halfway through, Hathaway's spiritual/analytical observations began to get a bit saccharine for my taste, but the writing itself is certainly good and the story moves along quickly enough and is filled with so many random, interesting details that it doesn't take away much from the book as a whole. Definitely worth reading.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I admit that I have a weakness for goats. When I read this book about a couple who leave their lives in Manhattan to travel the U.S. in search of knowledge about "all things goat," I kept saying to my husband, "They're living the dream!" (To which he would respond, "Whose dream??") But beyond my goat fixation, I liked this book because of Hathaway's passion for terroir--the idea that food is rooted in the land, and of connecting the palate to the place. She and her partner definitely take a circuitous route to starting their own farm, and the journey is fascinating both from the food-lover's point of view and that of anyone who has ever pondered embracing a very different style of living.

[Grillables · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less about cheese, more about farming goats - but still a cute, quick read.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

My daughter wants me to buy and maintain for her – a pygmy goat. I do not plan to do this, but I am considering adopting an animal at the zoo and putting it in her name. Secretly I think some of us have a calling to live on the land, just as many do for the sea. I recently read an article about a farmer who advertised for a young couple to assist him on his farm. His own family was not interested in farm life, but there is a growing population of non-farm explorers that are leaving the high-pressure life of big cities and turning to a less stressful life. In this article a young couple worked with the farmer, learning the daily routines of farm animals as well as sowing crops in exchange for room and board, all the meat and vegetables they could eat, and at the end of a contracted time – land for their own farm.
This same calling to the land was right for Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz. Like so many, they had had enough of city life and dreamed of a life raising goats. Margaret and Karl wanted to know how the lives of those who provide meat, dairy and produce differed from their own busy existence. Margaret had been a cookbook editor and preferred to be cooking. Karl was a lover of the animal kingdom. They began their journey by experimenting with goat cheese and milk and exploring their options for goat farming. In 2003 – the Chinese Year of the Goat, they gave up city life and began their adventure.
Margaret and Karl studied the art of making goat cheese – the American way. They really did their homework, visiting multiple farms, goat cheese makers, the International Goat Days Family Festival, the American Dairy Goat Association convention, and the Mountain Goat Ranch. Their adventures took them all over the United States where they also discovered just how much their decision to leave city life had led them to see America. After a full year for Goat 101, what did the author’s do with all their goat knowledge? You will have to read the book, preferably with good wine and some goat cheese and crackers.

[Lgordo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was solidly "m-e-e-eh" (pun intended).

Partially, that was set up by my expectations. I thought they were going to start a dairy and learn to make cheese, but all they did was visit dairies and eat cheese.

Another reason is that it sets out to be an in-depth examination of goats in America, and also a memoir, and fails doing either well. The memoir part seems to prevent the author from getting into any topic in any depth. But the superficial hopping around precludes any real adventure that might make for a gripping memoir. In fact, "gripping" is not a word I'd use to describe this book. (Or "adventure".)

It also felt a bit deceptive to me. You're under the impression that they just quit their jobs to travel to goat farms, but they are selling goat puppets on their website? What - a website for what? Oh, she's writing articles? He's taking professional photos? Suddenly everyone's openness to chat and feed them cheese makes more sense. But the author as an itinerant journalist rather than ditzy goat-crazed urbanite changes the entire book.

In the end, I guess I learned a little about goats. It was a pleasant read. Just nothing special.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title of this book is terribly misleading. I thought it would be about goat cheese, but it's primarily about a couple who spent a year traveling the country immersing themselves in the goat industry to try to decide whether or not to open a goat farm. They spend more time attending goat auctions than actually tasting goat cheese. And when they're not on the road what do they they do? They make puppets. I was hoping their journey to be more enlightening, but I'm probably just bitter the book wasn't what I thought it would be.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book got my attention because I like goat cheese and had barbecued goat as a child in Mexico, so am interested in such foods.

Here we have an account of a nice clueless couple touring goat-related farming. We learn about goat meat and cheese, and goat support groups. More practical experience would have been appreciated but maybe that's for a follow-up book.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the title did lead me astray a bit, I was thinking there'd be more cheesey information (ie: this kind of goat cheese is made in this manner), it was great fun to read.
I liked her writing style and felt drawn into their story.

[Marsha Healy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author joined our book club when we discussed the book. We also had a variety of goat cheeses.

[Gia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a similar book a year ago called "Goat Song" and have been captivated by goats and cheese making ever since! As other reviewers noted, this book is more about the travels of this couple contemplating becoming goat farmers than it is about the goats or cheese making, and anyone interested in those topics would definitely prefer "Goat Song."

This couple was quite rigorous in traveling the whole country, and talking to a variety of people in every aspect of the goat business. At first, I found their rigor admirable, but closer to the book's end, I started finding their rigor rather annoying! Such as how they posed as journalists conducting an interview for a magazine article that they had no intention of writing just to get into the Chicago Cubs' dugout for the chance to ask player Ramon Martinez about the legendary "Curse of the Billy Goat" (but never did!). Even the author mentions in a later chapter that one of her interviewees tells her to just do it and give farming a try.

Also described in this book is the goat meat industry which I found disturbing, and made me want to become a vegetarian pronto! The couple also struggles with the thought of raising meat goats and having to kill the animals they so admire.

The best thing about this book is the insight it lends into the farming industry. Anyone who reads this book will never again take for granted the food they find on supermarket shelves! It's typical of the modern day American lifestyle to be very far removed from how our food is produced, so this book offers much enlightenment. I'm now much interested in learning more about the local food movement and reading books by Wendell Berry.

One warning about this book for cheese lovers. You will have extreme cravings for the exotic goat cheeses mentioned in this book! Midway through the book, I found myself in the supermarket seeking the delicious cheeses I read about, and discovered the Beemster, which is now a favorite of mine.

Overall, a great read from more aspects than the obvious (goats and cheese).

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book, but it reads like a textbook at times, going into every tedious detail about the raising of goats, making of cheese, and preparing of goat meat. Also, there is a lot of extraneous name-dropping of goat celebrities in the book. I felt like I was going to be tested after every chapter to remember who owned such and such farm and brined their goat cheese with citrus.
She is constantly having epiphanies in the book. Epiphanies lose their potency after the fifth or sixth time.
I felt the book was shallow, the characters (yes I know it was a true story) were not fully developed and there was no point of conflict to keep the story interesting. Hathaway and her husband are written as though they are paper dolls devoid of emotion save for getting cold while sleeping in their car. Hathaway hints at some trouble when she briefly describes stress-induced hives, but never delves deeply enough into it.
Also, I read the back flap of the book and found out the conclusion before finishing the book, which bummed me out.
Overall, this book should have been shortened to a magazine article, but if you're a budding goat farmer, it would be an interesting read for you.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bedtime book for my boyfriend and i. (which sounds far, far dirtier than it ought to.)

the descriptions of cheese in it were so vivid they made me routinely exclaim in dismay - "aggh! why can't i get that here??" (artisanal goat cheeses being rather few and far between out belfast, n. ireland way). and aside from jealousy piqued by her nonchalant 'yeah, i just had some wicked smoked goat gouda' moments, i enjoyed the saga. there were some silly moments in the writing, yes. but margaret and karl were intriguing characters and - though their personalities were always just far enough out of the limelight that i wasn't entirely sure - i think they're the kind of people whose farm it'd be nice to visit, if i'm ever closer to the belfast in maine. good luck to them and their goats.

the number one best thing i took away from it (even if our notions of a goat dairy in ireland don't materialise): SLOW FOOD is WORTH IT. remember where what you eat comes from. eat smart and make things well.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows a couple who give up their fairly affluent life in NYC to pursue a dream of living a slower life on a farm. They visit goat farmers across the US for a year, during which they seem to spend a lot of time sleeping in their car. They also get married in that year. After a year, they move in with one set of parents while looking for a farm to buy. By the end of the book, she is pregnant, they have a farm, and have just purchased a few goats. I liked the portions of the book that dealt with their relationship and their decision to give up the NYC life more than I like all the descriptions of goat cheese (really, how many ways can you describe chèvre without actually tasting it - despite the myriad descriptions, all I could ever conjure was my grocery store brand). I skimmed the last 1/4 of the book and picked up at the end. Best part of the book was pointed out to me by my friend Cathe, which is that one way they earned money was that the author made/sold goat hand puppets online.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this book because I too am fixated on goats, and I loved the idea of city-folk journeying about the country for a year to figure out their own transition to a countryside goat-tending life. Wrestled the whole time with slight irritation at the slightly saccharine voice of self-discovery (oh, how droll! look how we save money by sleeping in our Hyundai Santa Fe, but can as easily fly off to Milan for a goat cheese festival to restore our spirits! look at this wonderful journey of partnership and a goat-themed wedding at the end of it, and then our own farm, and goats, and a baby!) and greater envy that she actually did this thing, because damn it, if I had enough money saved up to, you know, pay for 40,000 miles of gas in my own Santa Fe, take a year off with the love of my life AND wind up with goats at the end of it (and hey, my own little travel memoir to help fund things besides), I wouldn't hesitate a moment. So, cheers to you, Margaret Hathaway and co; thank you for pursuing the dream and sharing it (even if it does come off a little Eat Pray Love-y).

[Thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 - 4.5 stars. This book is exactly what it purports to be, which is a travel memoir for the year or so the author and her boyfriend (then fiance, then husband) hit the road and go in search of information about and experiences with goats across America. Will they be able to give up (for more than a year) their lives in NYC and transition to a more rural life of goats?

Hathaway's writing is well done - fairly sparse but still honest about her experiences as she, her boyfriend, and their dog undertake this journey. This is not a book about goat care, or selecting the best goat cheeses, but is about their experiences, worries, and desires for a kind of life they want to build.

Perhaps I am also very sympathetic to this approach, as I have desired to make a similar transition in my life for several years, and reading about Hathaway's struggle towards something that at first she cannot precisely identify is something with which many may be familiar.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I knew how many people have left New York City for a life of farming and wrote a memoir about it, just in case there are still one or two I haven’t read. In this one, the manager of Magnolia Bakery and her photographer boyfriend-soon-husband quit their jobs and spend a year traveling the country to learn as much as they can about raising goats to decide if that’s the path they want to take. It’s very well written, and would be a valuable resource for anyone considering doing the same. I’m drawn more to the near disasters, perseverance, and eventual triumph of the experience itself--so I didn’t love this quite as much as most books in this genre, but can still recommend it highly.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to read their goat journey.

Quotes I liked:

"We didn't simply want to make goat cheese. Rather, we want to center our lives around something both great and simple: producing food and devoting our lives to the pursuit and cultivation of real flavor, in every meaning of that word. Connecting the palate to the place seemed the perfect goal of our lives."

"Living an integrated and honest life, whether on a farm, in a cheese cave, or at a ball park, is what brings these people joy and is what fuels them in every endeavor. an aspiration to this kind of life started us on our journey, and the reminders, in such different settings, bring new energy to our project.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meat goats, dairy goats, even packing goats are the focus of this tale of traveling around the US in search of anything goaty. The author blends her travel writing with updates about her family, her engagement, their wedding plans and struggles to balance a love of both rural and urban life. At times I felt as though I was reading a personal letter both to and from people I didn't know, but the goats she met along her travels remained interesting enough to carry me through. It even inspired me to buy goat yogurt from the farm she visited in California. Mmmm, goaty.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea there was such a quirky goat subculture in this country and hadn't realized that goat meat was an up and coming meat. This book did deal more with people than actual goats and never got into what makes good goat milk. I got that answer in the first five minutes of talking to a goat farmer, so what's up with these people who spent a year talking to goat farmers across the country? The use of present tense was quite distracting in this memoir and took a bit of the enjoyment away, and I could have done without the numerous ways of serving goat meat.

[Janet Frost · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book fits a very specific niche. My family and friends would say a very weird one. But I am fascinated by goats and recently I have been exploring travel literature. This little book fit both. A couple leave their fast-lane life in NYC and spend a year exploring everything "goat" in the hopes of making goat herding their new vocation. The story was interesting in its variety of things related to goats. Goats for meat, goats for cheese, goats for fun, you name it they discovered it all over the US.

[EV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up used, as a cheesemonger I pick up cheese books whenever I see the,.
Well written, featuring several people I personally know; it's a great expansion on the world of goats. I tend to view goats only as a source of milk to make the cheese I sell, I know breed names and breeding cycles but my goat knowledge ends there. Year of the Goat was a much needed look at the whole picture. From milking goats to meat goats to spongin/weaving goats (and the humans behind them) you want to follow Margaret and Karl into goat bliss.

[Stephen Holbrook · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would be nice to have the time and funding to run off for a year visiting all the farms you want. If not, this book might fulfill some of your desires to do so. Interesting to read about urban folks making the transition to a rural one. Goats seem to be a good choice for a dairy animal for being low impact on the environment, easier to care for, and get a high value product in cheese or meat.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty psyched on this tale of adventures in goat farming written by a former Magnolia baker and her photographer husband. It details the year they spend learning every aspect of the goat cheese making industry and goats in general by caravaning around the country, deciding whether to give up city life for farm life. And since that was my plan, reading a book about it might save me some strife.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though this wasn't on my list of books to read, my librarian Diana recommended it to me as a MUST. I wasn't let down.

It was interesting to read about Margaret and Karl's adventures and research. The longer they were on the road the more focused and defined their purpose became. It's an inspiration to those of us that wish to "get back to the land." I only wish some of the vignettes about the people they met and stayed with had MORE info.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHY I PICKED IT UP:
About food? Yes. A story about someone leaving their traditional job to get into the food industry? Yes. Ability to live vicariously through said story? Yes.

NOW THAT I'VE READ IT:
I really enjoyed this book. It comes across as honest, real and thoughtful. Reading about each visit doesn't get old, and Hathaway weaves each visit to tell a compelling story about her journey from New York City to a farm in Maine.

[Yvonne Loveday · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dream as a child was to live on an organic farm and keep goats. I spent a lot of time with other people's goats in the '70s and '80s, and tried to raise a few at one time. I was pregnant with my first son and spent the days in the field shepherding our five kid goats because we had no fence. It was like an idyllic dream. Did it really happen? Yes, I have the pictures to prove it. I love goats. So when this book came out amidst the other urban farm narratives, I was thrilled. Read it.